Ratner Exits: Saving His Career Comes First
An Open Letter to the Entertainment Industry from Brett Ratner
Dear Colleagues,
Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a well-deserved earful from many of the people I admire most
in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I
said in a number of recent media appearances. To them, and to everyone I’ve hurt and
offended, I’d like to apologize publicly and unreservedly.
As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any
young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments. And
they pale in comparison to what any gay, lesbian, or transgender individual must deal with as
they confront the many inequalities that continue to plague our world.
So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it
pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I
know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes
out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably
feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming
weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help
stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated.
As a first step, I called Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th
Academy Awards telecast. Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest
moment of my career. But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association
with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.
I am grateful to GLAAD for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to
increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised and I look
forward to working with them. I am incredibly lucky to have a career in this business that I love
with all of my heart and to be able to work alongside so many of my heroes. I deeply regret my
actions and I am determined to learn from this experience.
Sincerely,
Brett Ratner
Quick, get Gil Cates on the phone…oh, wait a minute…
Thank goodness for his big dumb ass, that he has some sense of self preservation. Good on him for backing out.
Well a double ‘What the fuck’ from me.
Saw Tower Heist today and liked it. But was presently surprised to see one of my all time favorite rappers Heavy D in a tiny cameo, and then on the way home with the radio on in the car, they said that Heavy D had died today. Being from the Caribbean myself we felt that Heavy D was like one of our own whom had made it big in the big city. He will be missed.
And now this. So a guy resigns for hosting the awards because he said the word ‘fag’. I understand JS’s passion for these things, but then should Eddie Murphy resign for saying ‘nigger’ several thousand times in his career? What about his anti-gay jokes? Does the passage of time absolve him of blame? And it was no slip of the tongue, he would have to sit down and right those jokes, actually think about it.
I guess my question is, where does political correctness begin and end? It seems we now live in a world where every kid gets a prize for just showing up…where people get offended if you wish them a merry Christmas just because they happen to be of a different faith.
Now we have blacks calling each other nigger, gays calling each other fags and queers, and everyone belongs to some sort of club where its okay to call each other these names that others have to resign or a raked over the coals for when they say it.
Where would you rather live…in a world where absolutely nothing offends you, everything is safe….and no one makes you think?
Not equating that with what Ratner did, but it just seems that this issue is completely blown out of proportion.
Heavy D is dead. The overweight lover has left the building.
Ratner wasn’t fired for saying the word “fag,” bulldog. He was fired for taking a very political job in a heavily gay community and mouthing off like an arrogant asshole.
Producing the Oscar telecast is not a right of free speech.
@Bulldog68 – first off, it’s “pleasantly surprised” which suggests perhaps part of the problem you have with language usage.
The reason why oppressed people get to use such terms with each other is because they fucking earned the right to, a term of affinity among people who have had these terms hurled at them like weapons and usually with the implied threat of actual violence.
The reason why specifically Ratner is catching the holy hell he rightly deserves is because at this point after several recent incidents (like the incident with THE DILEMMA or the Isaiah Washington thing) you cannot work in this industry and claim ignorance that the word “fag”, especially when used by straight men, is considered hateful & hostile by the gay community. Gay people are the target of random hate crimes every day. Perhaps if you knew some, they could explain to you how repeated use of that word enforces this idea they are a negative in our society, their lives worth less.
It’s so bizarre I see this post as just this morning a guy who lives in West Hollywood was telling me about how everyone he knows as at least one friend who has had to deal with a car load of straight assholes yelling “faggot” and that he knows of several guys who had much worse happen when those cars stop and the boys with baseball bats get out.
Starting to grasp why you don’t get to use the word anymore, bud?
This issue isn’t blown up enough…
Have they ‘earned’ the right to use it? I’m pretty sure that if a gay person used the word fag in the workplace, anybody, straight or gay, would be entirely in their rights to take offense and object.
Whats going to happen with Eddie Murphy now? He’s probably angrier at Ratner than anyone. The only reason he agreed to do the Oscars was because Ratner begged him. Now he’s stuck hosting a show he didn’t even want to sit through the year he was nominated! Can they still book a new host this late in the game?
It’s not political correctness. It’s the simple fact that a portion of this populace is treated like second class citizen for being who they are, and that alone is reason enough to be rather pissed when someone like Ratner makes such a stupid statement.
Now, if you want to bring up Eddie Murphy’s past, especially Delirious, then we have to go back to when it happened. If he did Delirious in 2011. He would either have to be gay himself, or realize that such a special would be the end of his career. The world is different now. Acting as if it’s not, is just being oblivious to be oblivious.
What Ratner did is exactly like what Hank williams did.
You can say what you want, when you want. It’s a free fucking country.
However, when you say something offensive your employers have every right to tell you to go fuck yourself.
I don’t get why people think that free speech extends into work related scenarios. If you walked into work and started referring to all the girls as bitches and called my boss ‘chubbs’, they could fire you ten seconds later. The same rules apply here. Ratner is a director for hire. The Academy would be his employer.
I thought Murphy did take some fire when he was initially brought up to host the oscars years ago??
I haven’t been following the recent events w/Ratner too closely but one word that springs to mind is antiquated.
So Cain, Paterno, and Ratner? Does this mean celeb careers now die in 3’s?
You know, I’d really like to see Eddie Murphy stay on as Oscar host. Seriously: I think the guy is a terrific entertainer. And I have gone on record giving favorable reviews to some Murphy movies that most others have scored.
But: If he does decide to take a hike… And if Jon Stewart can’t be brought back for a rerun… How aboit keeping it classy and booking George Clooney and Michael Caine?
Look,
It’s a pretty thankless job. The odds of success are small, the odds of awkward “Hey didn’t you host…i don’t rembember…” are exceedingly high. Chris Rock, Jon Stewart are two of the funniest comedians on the planet and they did subpar jobs (though I thought Stewart did great the first time).
I still vote Kevin Spacey. Who can fake sincerity, sing and do impressions. Murphy lets his ego go for a few hours, I’m sure it’ll be very entertaining.
As for Ratner, the name of the game is not being THAT stupid. Yes free country free speech. But use your brain numb nuts. You have cameras on you all damn day, this is a very fickle, sensitive crowd. oh well.
I’m not absolutely sold on Murphy as host. He was really in Christ-am-I-bored mode as he made the talkshow rounds last week. I just don’t think he can get pumped up for anything any more. Since Nathan Lane isn’t a realistic choice, I say give Craig Ferguson a shot. Edgy but likable and quick/smart/funny. Plus they could have Geoff the Robot Skeleton be the announcer.
When I compare what Brett Ratner did, and the price he has paid, for what in my mind, was not done out of hate or spite or malice, and then I watch the American landscape and see and hear Rush Limbaugh still on the air, Ann Coulter still in the mindset of a slave owner, saying their blacks are better that democrat blacks, when people who run for President are actively wearing their anti gay beliefs like a badge of honor, that is the root cause of my sense of this being overblown. I get the feeling that sometimes the american public makes no separation between a moment of stupidity and true hatred.
Here’s my separation:
Stupidity: Brett Ratner saying rehersals are fags.
Hatred: Rush Limbaugh calling Barney Frank the ‘banking queen’ or this …”let’s say we discover the gene that says the kid’s gonna be gay. How many parents, if they knew before the kid was gonna be born, [that he] was gonna be gay, they would take the pregnancy to term? Well, you don’t know but let’s say half of them said, “Oh, no, I don’t wanna do that to a kid.” [Then the] gay community finds out about this. The gay community would do the fastest 180 and become pro-life faster than anybody you’ve ever seen. … They’d be so against abortion if it was discovered that you could abort what you knew were gonna be gay babies.” And this guy keeps growing from strength to strength. Where is the Hollywood constant drum beat to have this guy lose his job.
Cadaver Eddie was great on Jimmy Fallon. I admit he sleepwalked through the other late night appearances and had me worried he was in that weird zone where he seems just kinda whatever about everything. But he was up for it on fallon. Hope he stays on though I won’t be surprised glaad and some sensitive media types start bringing up Delirious even though Murphy is probably at least very likely bi sexual.
bulldog,
Trying to put what Ratner said into some kind of comparative example is kind of silly.
As if every stupid comment has to be rated against other idiotic hate speech. By assigning it value you are diminishing any point that can be taken from it.
By your logic what Roman Polanski did isnt so bad when you look at what Charles Manson did in comparison.
Silly logic.
Let his words be his words and lets stop trying to put it all into a grander argument.
His resignation statement is impressive. Good for him.
I love political correctness.
Good! I’m not a fan of Ratner’s movies, nor of homophobia.
I just like that Ratner’s admitting he’s lazy when it comes to making his movies.
Respectfully Angus, it is not I that has put this into a grander argument. It is the American public that has equated what Brett Ratner said as a sign that he’s a gay hater. And I was not the one that brought Roman Polanski or Charles Manson into the conversation. Talk about grander argument.
I quoted other examples of speech that were true examples of hate speech in my opinion, so maybe we should stick to comparing apples to apples. And I do believe that you should not treat every incident of this nature the same way. I’m not defending what Brett Ratner did, or saying that there should be no repercussions for it. I’m saying their should be an even response.
If you believe that saying the word fag disqualifies him from the job, then so be it. So now what job is he qualified for? Should he be run out of Hollywood and never work again? Should we now begin parsing through everyone of the films he directed looking for incidents of hate speech?
At the end of the day I have to ask myself whether this is reflective of Brett Ratner’s hatred for gays, and my my opinion the answer is no.
The American public doesn’t give a shit what Brett Ratner said. The American public doesn’t even know who the fuck Brett Ratner is. Brett Ratner’s “quitting” the Oscars is the direct result of a small but very vocal minority of people in one company town. And it’s the second best thing to happen to the Oscars in a very long time. Or will be the first, if whomever replaces Ratner doesn’t follow through on not bringing Bruce Vilanch back.
Forget it Brett, it’s Hollywood.
Where were these gay supporters in the Academy when Brokeback Mountain was up for Best Picture?
waterbucket, where were you in the five years and change in between posting every day about Brokeback Mountain and now?
I’ve been recovering from BBM’s loss of Best Picture.
Is doesnt mean Brett Ratner hates gay people.
It means he doesnt respect them enough to consider words.
Yes the world is a different place, and a much better place in many ways. But a world without Delirious is not something that improves it. I, for one, am glad I got to see those types of comedy shows growing up; I’m not a homophobe now b/c of it.
Delirious wouldn’t exist today and unlike some common thinking, RAW IS BETTER! RAW IS BETTER IN EVERY SINGLE CONCEIVABLE WAY! The world would be a lesser place without RAW in it. Delirious? Not so much.
I haven’t seen all of Delirious, but the last half-hour or so of RAW is some of the best stand-up I’ve ever seen (the first chunk, where he goes onnnn and on and on and on about women are just trying to take his money, wow; amazingly misguided).
Great comedy can be offensive, sometimes the question of that offense adds to the flavor. RAW’s misogyny, for instance, is pretty offensive but extremely funny. I found the fact that RAW was left off a recent prominent run-down of Murphy’s career interesting. Eddie’s total ice-cold embrace of this crazy and wildly offensive character seems to endure in part because of how problematic it seems. He seems to go past offense into a weird realm of pure comic presence. Like there is no limit to how painfully funny he could be.
“I would LIKE… to talk to YOOOOOU… ABOUT some of the THINGS in your SHOW! NOW… YOOOOOU cannnot say…”
But, really, other than the Cosby riff and the Mama Burgers (aka the funniest non-Pryor/Dice routine ever), RAW doesn’t come close to DELIRIOUS.
So who is the new host going to be?
Bye-bye, Eddie!
I like how people are all, ‘WHAT WILL THEY DO NOW? CAN THEY GET SOMEONE IN TIME? HOW CAN THE SHOW GO ON?’
Isn’t it still 3-plus months away? Jesus, on The Apprentice they whip up more smoothly-run celebrity benefit shows in 4 hours after The Donald gives them their task than the last 10 Oscars. Have The Donald produce with Brett Michaels and Holly Robinson Peete, they’ll start preparing the Friday before the ceremony and put on a better show than that Franco bullshit.
Are people already freaking out? The Donald could produce and host with ease.
@Bulldog68 – well, if you want talk apples to apples, perhaps we could whip up a Venn diagram to help out here.
Not sure if you realize this, but Rush Limbaugh is not a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, the Hollywood Community in General nor a Southern Californian resident. He is not employed by any of the major (or minor) studios. While the radio company he works for is in Sherman Oaks, the parent company that signs the checks is in Texas.
But I seem to see your problem here – you don’t understand what the actual issue is. This was never about whether or not Ratner hated gay people or was even homophobic. It was about a guy who took a job that entail being highly visible to a community that includes members who have made it abundantly clear that the days when the use of a derogatory term that denigrates them will no longer go unchallenged.
There is no “harmless” use of that word… unless you are English.
Are people *really* incensed about the use of the word or just the fact that Ratner refused to be at all classy when handed a very classy position? Like anghus alluded to above- these people hired him then he spouts off like a real life Lex about banging Olivia Munn and calling people “fags.” If the guy cannot control his fat mouth for 4 months, I think they did the right thing getting rid of him.
I honestly never understood the point of hiring him in the first place. Was he going to bring some kind of heretofore unseen Ratner sense of style to the affair? On the flipside of that, does any Oscar producer really need to be at the fore unless they’re highly stylized? I mean, if Tim Burton were doing it, there’s something to talk about. Ratner always struck me as a weird, pointless choice. Good riddance.
Are these instances (Stern show & fag comment) really the only times Ratner has said stupid shit? It’s been almost 15 years since he directed Money Talks, and his reputation is widely known. Until this month he’s never made any offensive statements? Never put his foot in his mouth?
Well, there was the time he was going around dissing Michael Mann’s Manhunter for being old and dated and cheesy when promoting Red Dragon. That’s a worse offense IMO. I love Manhunter. I don’t really have any gay friends or family members, so I don’t really care about all that. (I’m kidding, settle down.)
But, really, “gay issues” affect me in zero way whatsoever in a day-to-day way, and being a total sociopath and narcissist, I don’t really care about anything that doesn’t affect me.
Anyway, RATNER IS A GOD, that Stern interview is the most riveting 45m since the Gibson tapes, and a TRUE INSPIRATION on how to be awesome.
TEAM RAT.
Lex, RAW is superior in every way. RAW represents someone at the height of their career with a pair of balls the size of a Safeway. He goes all out and that alone makes it better.
Now, him leaving the Oscars is just silly, but he is in the business of self-destruction. Now they need a host and a producer, so why not go with Don’s choice. Hire Burton and let Johnny Depp host. There you go. PROBLEM SOLVED!
Lex, GAY ISSUES ARE HUMAN RIGHT ISSUES! IF YOU AREN’T A FUCKING HUMAN BEING, THEN GAY ISSUES DO EFFECT YOU! Seriously, enough with your nonsense about this and anyone else’s. If you are a human and care about the treatment of other humans, then the treatment of LGBT should matter to you.
Yeah, Johnny Depp is GREAT on live TV, there, JS… A regular nonstop improv machine delivering zingers. Who’s your #2? De Niro? Penn? Rourke?
Yeah I remember the Manhunter dissing, and that certainly was extremely offensive. Ratner seems like the kind of guy that would have been on Stern’s show a long time ago.
You don’t need zingers with Johnny Depp. You simply need a host and seeing as he’s one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, there you go. Not everyone watches the Oscars for yucks that would have worked in the Catskills in mid 60s!
The thing is, JS, I think they do. For whatever reason, that Academy LOVES shtick, real Borscht Belt type shtick that reminds them of the old song-and-dance glamor of yore… Maybe Jackie Mason and Kathie Lee would be up their alley.
JS, I own a DVD of “Where the Boys Aren’t 12.” And I once watched a Brazilian TS whack it on the internet.
That’s the extent of my interest in the LGBT community.
No wonder Lex is so loved by no one.
RE: Lex
ANDY: Does it help to tell them that I’m not homosexual?
RED: Neither are they. You have to be human first. They don’t qualify.
I do love the hypocrisy of this thread combined with one over at HE about Patton Oswalt. Brett Ratner gets a pass because he lives the life Lex is pretty much destined NEVER to get near, but Oswalt is a dick because apparently he didn’t want to be a pal to Lex.
Wow, that’s a bit harsh, no? Though I don’t really understand your point, nor the comparison you’re making… I’m just saying, I have a mountain of problems of my own. I don’t go around being an asshole to anybody without provocation, I don’t give a shit what anybody does, really. But mostly I think all people are pretty much worthless assholes, no matter what their color, creed or orientation. In general I’m not a people person, so I don’t have this boundless empathy for ANYONE whose concerns don’t affect me…
I know everyone in the coastal pop cult bubble thinks gay issues are on the tip of EVERYONE’s tongue at every waking moment, but you go back to Ohio, PA, Missouri, Nebraska, there aren’t a lot of dumpy straight people tearing out their hair worried about gay marriage. Even if there’s one gay guy in the country, OBVIOUSLY you don’t go and be a prejudiced asshole to that guy, everyone deserves fundamental human rights– But sometimes the discussion makes it sound like the country is 50/50 gay-straight.
If only fat people had such good PR.
I’m all for Mickey Rourke hosting the Oscars. That’s a trainwreck I want to watch.
And, really, I feel I’ve made this point before, but my empathy and outrage is all used up on Darfur, or that HIDEOUS story at Penn State, or that deal where the cops shot up all those innocent animals– that kind of stuff gets to me, should get to anyone. Genocide, child abuse, animal cruelty– THAT’S injustice.
Brett Ratner saying “fag” to mean “douche” doesn’t rate a mention on Page 197 of the mental newspaper of anyone who doesn’t have too much goddamn free time. Google Jerry Sandusky and come back and tell me what an awful human being Ratner is.
And not just Jerry Sandusky, but Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier and other Penn St. officials, not to mention the guy who saw Sandusky having sex with a 10 year-old and did not even try to stop him. Just walked away.
Ratner is not Academy material. Big surprise. But who’s gonna fill his and Eddie’s shoes?
The guy who walked away (allegedly) Mike McQueary might be the worst human being on this planet. At least since that little prick out here who watched his buddy murder a little girl in a casino bathroom, didn’t report, then BRAGGED on the radio about how he was getting laid because of his notoriety…
That is the kind of thing that is truly evil. Not antiquated slurs used ironically by frat guy dipshits.
DP – I’m a fan and an avid reader, but until you have the ability to follow big news items (now Eddie Murphy is out) and post quickly the moment they happen, you will be regarded as a second-tier player. I know you’re only one guy…but get a team or something to feed you big stories…or to post them when they happen. I know you’ve never run your campaign on “breaking news”, but it looks dated and bush-league when you can’t react to a moving story like this and when you have old news leading your site. Hours after it happened, there’s still nothing re: Murphy. I know I’m being critical…but it’s a business, and you’re in it. And good at it. But you need to raise the bar.
It seems clear that the reason for Brett’s resignation is a combination of his “fag” comment, inferring that Olivia Munn is a slut on Attack of the Show, and talking about the size of his balls and Lindsay Lohan’s lack of pubic hair on Stern. It’s more about the Academy Awards maintaining its classy image than anything.
“And, really, I feel I’ve made this point before, but my empathy and outrage is all used up…..”
Hmmm, that might be a touch easier to buy if you didn’t have such a reservoir of energy left for defending Ratner, here, on HE, on Twitter, etc.
The Academy was within their rights to do or not do whatever they wanted to with Ratner…but it’s a bummer Eddie left, for whatever reason.
The Muppets as hosts. Make it happen.
Don, that would be AWESOME.
Muppets Oscars is now trending on Twitter.
Anyone who thinks Raw is better than Delirious should not be frequenting film blogs. End of story.
Don Murphy should host the Oscars. HAHA! I think that’s pretty funny.
“…if you didn’t have such a reservoir of energy left for defending Ratner, here, on HE, on Twitter, etc.”
I like Brett Ratner’s movies and he’s a hero of mine. Thus discussion of The Rat affects my life. Gay marriage doesn’t.
It’s a free country. Ratner is a god. His Sternterview is a masterpiece. ICONIC.
I would LOVE the Muppets Oscars. Fantastic idea. Pay tribute to the kids movies for once.
i prefer ‘raw’ to ‘delirious’
I know they still have plenty of time to find a replacement, but isn’t a Muppets-hosted show one of the few things that might need more prep time than is available? I’d love to see it if they could pull it off, though. And that announcement might be a nice bit of press for the movie…
I’ve been listening a bit to the Ratner/Stern interview, and I have to say I agree with Lex that it is quite funny, crude, and brazenly personal. Stern has that odd skill at getting a subject so comfortable that they talk like there’s no one else there and it’s not over the radio. That said, it makes the Academy’s decision less surprising, since this is pretty crazy, obscene stuff and it’s the opposite of how they would like Hollywood to be viewed. I love how Ratner starts the interview by saying he can’t talk about anything dirty because of his new job with the OSCARS, and then he launches into utter filth and depravity.
Ratner / Stern interview …
15 minutes audio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHbVXj33AIw&feature=player_embedded
The part about his powerful load and the pull-out method is so classic I listen to it six times an hour.
Fuck producing, Ratner should host and just talk about his super-sperm and eating chicks out all night.
So Brian Grazer gets the job. He was also a producer on Tower Heist, Boomerang, and Nutty Professor 1&2, all with Eddie Murphy. Does this mean that Eddie can come back?
Don’t blame the mos for your crappy movie tanking.
Oh.. and a great big hello Leahnz. I missed you around here.
Stern/Ratner interview seems real and uncensored – something a lot of small/indie romantic comedies try to do…like Blue Valentine or Like Crazy …
except Ratner told his story in less time and made it way
more entertaining to me.
DP – any thoughts on the Stern interview ?
Let me be the first to predict it: the new host will be Ellen DeGeneres. She’s done it before–quite well–and it’ll be seen as a make-good.
Please let it be Tina Fey. She’s popular, beloved, and respected. Plus gay friendly as well.
cheers bulldog, backatcha
wanda sykes to host. funny, black, out, and a former member of the NSA so a damn fine american
Nice to see Leahnz back.
Well, since the Muppets thing won’t really go anywhere…
Jimmy Fallon or Neil Patrick Harris.
But a little part of me hopes Brian talks Eddie Murphy into doing it after all.
there’s a dozen smaller actors from the Sundance film festival that are fun to watch … but this event is huge so they need big brand names …
grab some big name bollywood / indian actor to do it …
then force the hollywood movie stars to dance before they
accept an award .
whoever does it will do a decent job first 10 minutes of the show then it gets boring .
so you need lots of great 10 minute hosts who know what
they are doing …
Since we’re floating names, why not Robert Downey Jr. Quick witted, the all time comeback kid, can think on his feet, a connection to both old and new Hollywood, and could also be a bit unpredictable as well.
My money’s on Seinfeld hosting.
Kevin Spacey in character all night as Johnny Carson. Or maybe Dave Thomas as Bob Hope.
Delirious or Raw? Overall I’ll go with Raw but would be great if you could take out the misogyny rant in the middle and add the best bits from delirious like the James brown and elvis stuff. Always wondered what Eddie would gave been as a stand up in his 30 s cause Pryor and carlin didn’t become who they were until their 30 s. They were kind of clones of other people until they found their voice. Eddie is kind of a clone of Pryor without the humanity but still an all time great in his own right. But would be interesting to see what he would have developed into if movie stardom didn’t intervene.
this tweet killed.
” @dougpound BREAKING: Dan Aykroyd to replace Eddie Murphy for Oscar host as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.”
genius.
Doug Lussenhop can sometimes be the funny one, Anghus.
Rattner should do an apology where he gets cornered and pulped by a fruity Autobot that turns into like a barbie corvette or something, voiced by Nathan Lane. And you know who is behind the camera.
Jamie Foxx is crushed nobody’s mentioning him right now.